Understanding
by Kahrliah
Summary: The Doctor never stopped fighting to return for Rose Tyler, but he couldn’t do it alone. Now it’s up to an old friend and new companions to give him the hope he needs to get her back. Spoilers for first two series. Set sometime after Doomsday. Ten/Rose
1. Preface

**Bear with me; I want to tell the story of the new companions before we dive in too far.**

Three people sat huddled around a small campfire, surrounded by the wild bushland of Australia. Calls from birds and small mammals echoed from the darkness of the trees. They had driven to the end of a long dusty gravel road in the middle of nowhere, parking in a small clearing and setting up camp for the night.

Mathew Black was perched happily on a large rock, flicking pieces of bark from his fiery red hair; he was tall for his age, at eighteen, he stood six feet from the ground. Pale, freckled skin contrasted with the darkness around him, illuminated by the glow of the fire. He had a thin build, lending him a rather lanky, stretched appearance. He was laughing cheerfully at the memory of a long lost friend, telling the group of her insane antics at school. He had known her since their early years in primary school, and always thought fondly of their school days.

Next to him sat Hannah Merits. Although being the smallest, at twenty-two years of age, she was also the oldest in the small group. She sat on a thick log, picking at peaces of bark and throwing them at Matt and laughing at his irritation. She had known Alison Price, the missing girl, for only a few short months, but had bonded closely with her in that time. Her tidy blonde hair was carefully straightened, tumbling down over her large breasts. She paused every few seconds to turn her thin, tanned face towards the man on her other side, flirting with wide, brown eyes and batting her mascara coated eyelashes at him.

The third person sat a little apart from the others, staring blankly into the glowing fire. Christopher Messenger was lost in a world of distant memories. His own, deep, blue eyes were welled with tears. Of the entire group, he was the closest to Alison, before she had vanished the year before. He remained oblivious to Hannah's constant attempts at flirting, running a pale hand through his dark hair, too caught up in his memories to care about the world around him. He was the same height as Matt, although he had a more athletic, heavier build.

Behind them sat a large green and silver tent, erected and ready for use later in the night. To the other side of the camp stood a small black car. Both belonged to Chris. At twenty, he was halfway between the ages of his two companions. The trip had been his idea, it had been six months to the day since Allie had disappeared.

'Chris?' Matt said, leaning towards the grieving man. 'You alright?' He was met with only silence. 'Chris, I know you can hear me... She wouldn't want you to be like this. She'd want you to laugh at the stupid things she did, to be able to smile when you remember her'

After a few minutes of silence, he responded, his voice barely more than a whisper.

'I know...'

'Chris... You need to move on... There are more girls out there' Hannah said softly, moving closer to him.

'Hannah I don-'

'You need someone else in your life, someone who can help you be happy again' She interrupted, placing a thin hand on his shoulder.

Before Chris could reply, a strange man came crashing through the undergrowth and into the clearing. He skidded to a halt as he passed the trio, staring unbelievably at them.

'Hello!' He exclaimed happily, ruffling his wild brown hair with his right hand. He smoothed out his brown, pinstriped suit and smiled at the group. 'I need you to leave' He stated, pulling a strange pen from his pocket, his face suddenly serious.

'What are you on about?' Chris asked angrily as he rose to his feet. The man glanced behind him, listening for some unknown threat.

'I'm The Doctor, and I need you to leave'

'Look mate, do you need me to call someone for you...?' Chris asked, clearly thinking the man was insane.

'No, I need you to leave, now' He repeated, clearly frustrated he wasn't getting his message across. He glanced around the group, casting his eyes over Hannah and Matt, who sat, still stunned next to the fire. 'You're all in grave danger, you need to get into that car, and drive as far as you can'.

'No offense Doctor...?'

'Just The Doctor'

'Well no offense, but we're out here for a reason, we're remembering a friend, and you're disturbing us. So if you need to call someone, I can get you a phone, otherwise, why don't you take your own advice and leave?' Chris had moved towards The Doctor, standing only a few feet from him.

'Your friend, are they...?' The Doctor asked quietly, his face full of understanding and regret.

Chris choked back tears as he thought of her.

'Yes, she's gone'

'I'm sorry' The Doctor muttered. 'What was her name?'

'Alison'

'I lost someone... Rose... And what I can tell you is that Alison would want you to listen to me'

Chris snapped at this.

'YOU DIDN'T KNOW HER! YOU FUCK OFF, RIGHT NOW!'

The Doctor frowned.

'No, I didn't know her, but you did, and can you honestly say she'd want you to die tonight?'

Chris paused, looking hopelessly around the camp.

'She...'

In that second another man appeared through the trees, only he wasn't a man, he was an alien. It stood seven feet off the ground; its body was thick and athletic. Long arms ended in seven sharply clawed fingers. It had elongated skull, loosely covered bumpy olive skin, forming deep wrinkled crevices falling in horizontal pattern. It looked like the skin had been simply draped over the head like a blanket and tucked into the lumpy grey body suit at the neck. Large, jet black eyes sat beneath a non existent brow and thin green lips failed to cover the wide hole that was its mouth. Long, razor sharp fangs protruded from its depths, forcing the mouth to remain constantly open. Thick, cloudy saliva dribbled onto the dust beneath its hooked feet. A massive roar erupted from the creatures chest, its loosely flapped skin vibrating violently as the sound built up and it threw its head back to release the call.

This thing was alien, without any doubt and it was a predator, obviously ready to kill them all.

The Doctor called back into the trees where he had come from.

'YOU TWO WANT TO HURRY IT ALONG A LITTLE? I'VE FOUND IT!'

The creature advanced menacingly towards them, the roar lessened to a constant, threatening growl as it flexed its claws in preparation for the slaughter it was planning.

***

**Sorry it's so short, I thought I'd just test the water and see how this goes down. Comments are welcomed and loved. First story, be kind.**


	2. Chapter One

**Updates will be a little slow, I'm a single mother of two, spare time is a rare occurrence. **

_The Doctor called back into the trees where he had come from._

'_YOU TWO WANT TO HURRY IT ALONG A LITTLE? I'VE FOUND IT!'_

_The creature advanced menacingly towards them, the roar lessened to a constant, threatening growl as it flexed its claws in preparation for the slaughter it was planning._

***

Chris watched carefully as the alien suddenly turned towards the trees behind it, listening to something no one else could hear. He started to back slowly towards the car, reaching for the others as he went. His heart raced as he thought over the situation he was in. How could he end up here, with an alien? Was that what had taken Allie? Had she been killed by some monster in the dark? He could just see his headstone now.

Christopher Messenger

23/03/1988 – 6/01/2009

Taken by aliens. May he rest in peace.

His mind continued to wander as he crept backwards, his eyes never leaving the lumpy bald head in front of him. Her car had been found, the keys still in it only six miles down the road from where the group now stood, hundreds of miles from Brisbane city where they all lived. Had this thing taken her? Killed her as it had been about to kill them? Suddenly anger rose within him and he stopped moving back. Was this the cause of his pain? Had this foul creature before him, or something like it taken her that night? His head swam with thoughts as he stepped forward, coming shoulder to shoulder with The Doctor, listening silently for the noise that had startled the alien.

A distant crashing met his ears, something was running through the undergrowth, headed in their direction at an alarming pace.

'Jack! Watch it, that one nearly hit me in the face!' a woman's voice called, her English accent sounding out of place in the wild bushland. He sighed with relief, they were human. The creatures growl started to grow in volume again as it took a step towards the trees, its old prey forgotten.

'Well if you were a little faster...' "Jack" shouted in return, his American accent also sounding out of place. The sound of their progress through the trees was rapidly becoming closer. Chris turned to The Doctor, realising something.

'Its going to kill them as soon as they walk through those trees...' he whispered. The Doctor just shook his head and pointed towards the alien. Suddenly, a man came bursting into the clearing and straight into the alien. After what seemed like a brief pause, it tore into his neck with its protruding fangs, the mans blue eyes shone with pain as he sucked in his last breaths. Chris stared blankly at the trees behind the scene, shocked to the core, but knowing that it was already too late to save Jack. From within their darkness came the flash of black and white as the English girl ploughed straight into Jack and reached over him to the alien, a syringe in her small pale hand. He watched with horror as she jabbed it into the lumpy skin at the back of its neck, sidestepping away as the same time. The alien seemed confused for a second, and dropped Jack, who hit the leaf litter with a dull thud, staining it with his blood. It let out a small whimper, reaching a clawed hand towards the syringe. It collapsed sideways into the tent before it could remove the offending object from its olive skin.

Chris watched as neither the English girl or The Doctor showed any regret for their lost friend. She already had her back to him, hugging The Doctor with relief.

'We're going to have to work on your running skills' he laughed, pulling some twigs from her long, dark brown hair.

'He tripped me...' the girl moaned. Chris though he heard something familiar in her voice. He stepped forward to get a better look at her, just as The Doctor let her out of his grip.

'Ah, probably didn't want you to get hurt' he suggested, his brown eyes looking over her with concern.

Chris noted that she was thin, but not tall. Her head would have come to his shoulder. The dark brown hair was perfectly straightened, and cut into delicate layers that fell to her shoulder blades. His heart skipped a beat, she looked like... No, surely not? What was with the accent? He took another step closer. Her skin was more pale, a brilliant white in the glow of the fire. Her hair had always been wavy too, and a lighter shade of brown. What about the leather jacket? When had she started wearing those? His eyes strayed to the ground, converse, they were both wearing converse. A thought suddenly occurred to him, was this her new man?

As she turned around, his blue eyes met the changed face of Alison Price. She was older, that he could tell, her face was more defined, her cheekbones and jaw line no longer hidden by the padding of youth. Her bright green eyes held wisdom that was far beyond her years, much like The Doctors next to her. Her full lips cracked into a smile as she turned his way, only to pass her gaze straight past him and look down at Jack, revealing the small mole on her neck he remembered so clearly teasing her about only a few months before.

She giggled and pushed her hand towards the dead man below her. 'Want a hand?' she laughed, gleefully proud of the joke she'd made. The Doctor tried to hold back a laugh beside her, managing to get out a response between spasms.

'Oh don't do that, he might take you up on the offer and honestly one hand in a jar is enough...'

'That's hardly fair...' an American accent groaned from the ground. Surely not? Chris looked down at the man before him, who had taken his ex girlfriends hand and was getting to his feet, apparently unharmed. 'One time, it was one time'.

'Yeah, but it was a hand in a jar Jack, come on, it's gross...' Alison responded, scrunching up her face as she brushed leaf litter from his clothes.

'Allie?' came the desperate reply from behind him, as Matt plucked up the courage to speak.

The once lost girl turned around, confusion shone in her intense eyes as they met with his own. They widened as he watched her realise who he was, a small gasp escaped her lips.

'Oh'

***

They had done it! The Karmatak soldier was safely tranquilized and ready to be returned to its home planet. It was a shame about Jack though... She always hated when he had to go through such pain. He had gone to such efforts to return to The Doctors side and had succeeded only a few short months after she had come aboard the TARDIS. She couldn't see herself ever leaving the Time Lords side, her home was in that glorious blue box now. She heard a slight groan from the ground, and a smile spread across her lips. On the ground lay Captain Jack Harkness, on of her best friends. She giggled as a thought crossed her mind as she extended her arm.

'Want a hand?' the mere thought of what had been in the jar he had been clutching when they had found him in Cardiff sent her into hysterics.

'Oh don't do that, he might take you up on the offer and honestly one hand in a jar is enough...' The Doctor whined, obviously trying to keep a straight face. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Jack as he grabbed onto her hand.

'That's hardly fair...' Jack groaned as she tried to pull him to his feet. 'One time, it was one time'.

'Yeah, but it was a hand in a jar Jack, come on, it's gross...' she shuddered at the thought of the dismembered hand sitting in its jar underneath the console of the TARDIS. How had he been able to carry that around with him every day? Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling her name. She hadn't realised they weren't alone in the clearing. She looked up and locked eyes with those of Christopher Messenger, the man she had tried to forget.

'Oh' she whispered, not entirely sure what to say. This was not good, not good at all.

***


	3. Chapter Two

**And here we go again, back into the crazy world of my imagination. Enjoy!**

'_Yeah, but it was a hand in a jar Jack, come on, it's gross...' she shuddered at the thought of the dismembered hand sitting in its jar underneath the console of the TARDIS. How had he been able to carry that around with him every day? Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling her name. She hadn't realised they weren't alone in the clearing. She looked up and locked eyes with those of Christopher Messenger, the man she had tried to forget._

'_Oh' she whispered, not entirely sure what to say. This was not good, not good at all._

*******

The Doctor looked at his stunned companions face and quickly realised she was the Alison the one with dark hair had spoken about, and she wasn't happy to see him here. He'd never understand the workings of the human mind. Allie had been travelling with him for almost two years now, and only rarely mentioned the life she'd left behind. She never asked to visit home, or talk to her parents, yet she obviously cared for the man in front of her, however shocked she was that he was here.

'Allie?' He asked, feeling he should break the awkward silence. She turned and gave him a hopeless glance, obviously unaware of what to do. Alright, she wasn't ready to deal with this. 'Jack, you and I will carry our little guest' he jabbed his thumb at the alien lying on the ground a few feet away. 'As for you three, follow along behind or leave, your choice. Allie, lead the way back to the TARDIS'

'Yes sir' Came Jacks response, coupled with a mocking salute that seemed to break Allie from her hopeless state.

'I'm on it!' She shouted and mimicking the salute with a grin before heading towards the trees.

The Doctor watched as she turned back at the edge and looked at the dark haired man behind her. 'Come, if you want. I'll explain later' She muttered, turning towards the trees. He looked back at the three still standing around the light of the fire. No one moved forwards at first.

'Come on, we may as well...' Dark hair stated, staring at Allies retreating back. The others fell into place behind them as The Doctor grabbed the thick legs of the motionless Karmatak and with Jacks help hauled it through the undergrowth towards the TARDIS.

***

Christopher watched the faint outline of the struggling men in front of him as he traipsed through the darkness. Allie was here and alive, after all these months... She'd just been running about in the forest with a couple of men. The thing being dragged through the undergrowth was no doubt from another planet, but she hadn't seemed to be bothered by that information. And the man, Jack, he'd been dead. There was no way anyone could survive an attack like that, yet only a few feet in front of him the man was still alive and seemingly unharmed.

He made a quick decision and moved toward the front of the group, where Allie was walking in a determined zig zag through the trees. He remembered how changed she had seemed in the clearing, older, wiser, braver.

'You were gone...' He said timidly, wondering what had happened to her. He heard a sigh next to him as she looked at the shadows around her.

'Not now Chris, please'

'It cant wait Allie, I want to know, where were you? Why didn't you come back? They found your car abandoned... I didn't know what to think' He wanted her to answer with something that would make it all better, that would ease the building worry within him.

'Travelling' She stated, and simply continued to walk. Travelling? She'd left him, what they had for travelling? He couldn't quite believe it.

'That you new man then?' He pointed towards The Doctor in the shadows, his hand barely visible.

'No' He breathed a sigh of relief and continued to walk beside her as she picked her way through the bushland. 'There hasn't been anyone since...'

'Okay' He mumbled, wondering how much longer he was going to be able to believe this was all normal.

'The alien... That's kinda what we do, go around helping people, saving the world, running for our lives...' He knew that was all he was going to get for now, and left it. Instead watching as her pace quickened and they wandered into another small clearing.

In the centre sat a large blue box, light glowing softly from small windows at the top. Allie bounded straight up to it and pulled a shining silver key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock. She then pushed the door open and stood aside, allowing Jack and The Doctor to drag the unconscious alien inside. As soon as they'd passed inside she followed them into what Chris expected to be an uncomfortable space to be stuck in with a killer alien.

Her head briefly popped around the door again. 'Come in, I'll get you some tea or something...'

Chris couldn't see how she could make them tea in the box, but followed anyway, wanting to see what they intended to do with the alien.

Matt and Hannah following silently behind him, seemingly still shocked from their encounter.

***

Allie stomped up the ramp of the ancient time machine towards its console, not bothered in the slightest that the interior of the blue box that sat in the clearing was considerably larger on the inside. How had this happened? Her past was colliding with her present and threatening to make her choose between two lives. A slight intake of breath behind her informed her that their guests had stepped inside. She turned around in time to see Matt and Hannah fight for the exit. Chris stood silently in the doorway blocking their path, his eyes roaming across the alien environment in front of him.

'It's okay' Allie muttered, slightly amused at her friends reactions. 'And yes, it's alien... Chris let them out'. She watched as Chris moved aside and the others raced outside. She'd have to deal with them later.

'Are you going to introduce us to your handsome friend?' Jack asked as he finished securing the Karmatak.

'Chris this is Jack, and that's The Doctor over there' She waved in The Doctors general direction. 'Doctor, Jack, this is Christopher Messenger. Now Chris, did you want that cup of tea?'

She watched his expression become a mix of emotions as he thought of a response.

'Is it alien tea?' He asked eventually, glancing at the Karmatak.

'No sorry, just plain old tea, or maybe coffee?' At the mention of caffeine Christopher's expression softened.

'Sure' She motioned for him to follow and headed down the corridor towards the kitchen.

***

The Doctor glanced at Jack, both of them shocked at their young friends reaction.

'Well that was interesting...' Jack stuttered. The Doctor considered the situation for a minute.

'They have a lot to talk about, we'll get this job over with to give them space' He gestured to the Karmatak.

'I've never seen her like that, I mean I always thought there was someone she left behind or lost, but it's like polar opposites'

'Flick that switch' The Doctor commanded, hoping the instruction would silence his companion.

'I mean, I'd think she'd be happy, she obviously cares about him'

'Jack, please just concentrate' Memories of Rose flooded his mind. He knew exactly how Chris would have felt; losing the person he loved, not being able to get her back no matter how hard he tried. The only difference was that this story had a happy ending, the two had been reunited. That was something He and Rose would never have.

In so many ways Allie had reminded him of Rose, her bright smile and caring nature made him feel as if he still had a part of her close to him. Although Allie was far darker than Rose herself, often becoming lost in moments of great sadness, much like himself, they shared the same innocence and love for life. And now he was going to lose her too. She'd go back to Earth and live her life with Chris and his last connection to Rose Tyler would be lost.

***

Hannah and Matt stood outside the glowing blue box, shocked by the events of the evening. They spoke quietly together of optical illusions and costumes. Neither was ready to admit that they had encountered a real alien, or indeed found their lost friend. The word delusional often came to reference.

An ancient groaning sound pierced through the night, fading in and out in time with a flashing light from the top of the box. The watched in awe as the solid object seemed to disappear into the night.

***

**Reviews make me write faster**


	4. Sorry guys

I regret to announce that I've been asked to stop this story by the person that I based Allie off. I didn't mean to offend her, I simply thought that as a big Doctor Who fan she'd love to be included in a story.


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